QUESTIONS AND ESSAY PLANS
1. Describe and evaluate one cognitive-developmental theory of gender development.
(25 marks)
Obviously you need to make a choice between Kohlberg and gender-schema theory.
There is sufficient in A2 Level Psychology to cover either of these in sufficient depth
with good evaluation so it will depend on your personal preference. This essay plan
is going to cover Kohlberg.
Paragraph 1 Introduction
Outline the main assumptions of the theory, emphasising that the child needs a
certain level of cognitive development before full appreciation of the full meaning of
gender is established.
Paragraph 2
Outline the stages of gender development: basic gender identity, gender stability,
gender constancy.
Paragraph 3
Describe the fact that all three stages need to be completed before there is full
gender constancy. Once this has occurred, schemas are formed (describe one or two
briefly) and children actively seek same-sex models to imitate.
These first three paragraphs cover the description of the theory (AO1); now it time to
evaluate (AO2).
Paragraph 4
Cover the research evidence ensuring that you say that this is in support of the
theory (this is very important as it emphasising to the examiner that this is being
presented as a positive evaluation point). Briefly outline such studies as Munroe,
Shimmin, and Munroe (1984), Slaby and Frey (1975), and Ruble, Balaban, and
Cooper (1981). Point out that Munroe et al.’s study does offer cross-cultural support
that Kohlberg’s stages are universal.
Paragraph 5
Now cover the main negative point of evaluation—that sex typing is well under way
before a child achieves gender constancy. Outline the research that demonstrates
this. If you have time, you can also mention that the theory ignores external
influences while over-emphasising the importance of cognitive factors.
Paragraph 6
Finish by offering gender-schema theory as an alternative. Do not describe this
theory except as a very brief outline but point out the main points of comparison (in
other words, don’t forget that the essay is about Kohlberg’s theory and any other
theory should be used to compare and contrast). Basically, point out that genderschema theory addresses the main problem of Kohlberg’s theory (and say how)
whilst acknowledging the importance of cognitive factors in the acquisition of
mature gender identity.
2(a). Describe the role of biological factors in gender development. (10 marks)
2(b). Evaluate the biosocial approach to gender roles. (15 marks)
In this question, part (a) is AO1 and part (b) is AO2.
Part (a)
Paragraph 1 Introduction
Start with the fact that males are XY and females are XX (you need to start with this
in order to describe the effect of hormones). Then discuss the influence of these
chromosomes, including the effect on prenatal development. Go through the
prenatal events that lead to males and females developing in different ways.
Paragraph 2
Now discuss the influence of hormones after the child has been born. Start with the
prenatal effects and then describe hormonal effects as girls and boys are growing
up. Mention some of the research studies but only if you have time—this is AO1 so
you must leave yourself plenty of time to answer the second part.
Part (b)
As this part is entirely evaluation you must NOT spend time on describing the theory.
You need to assume that the examiner is familiar with it!
Paragraph 1 Introduction
Start with research evidence that supports the theory, mainly Goldwyn (1979) and
the case of Mrs DW.
Paragraph 2
Now move on to research evidence that contradicts it: Imperato-McGinley et al.
(1974) and Colapinto (2000). In each case make sure that you evaluate the evidence.
Mrs DW is a single case study. The “girls” who became boys in the ImperatoMcGinley study lived in a society that valued the male role. The case of David Reimer
(as reported by Colapinto) was, again, a case study.
Paragraph 3
Now cover other criticism. There is a lack of support in specific aspects of the
theory. It appears, at least in the case of David Reimer, to seriously underestimate
the role of biology. It is based mainly on case studies of intersex children and the
findings from these cannot necessarily be generalised to those with more typical
biological development.
3. Discuss the influence of social factors on gender roles. (25 marks)
There are many social factors you can consider; a suitable plan would be to cover
about two or three only to ensure that you have plenty of research evidence to
support them. You need to ensure that you enough depth so it is better to do a few
in considerable depth rather than a lot superficially. In order to ensure sufficient
AO2, you not only need research evidence but some evaluation of it.
This essay plan covers parents, then peers, and school, and this is sufficient because
there is a wide variety of research findings and some important implications. Of
course, there is no reason at all not to cover other influences, such as the media, as
long as you have sufficient depth.
Paragraph 1 Introduction
A brief (and I do mean brief—this is AO1) overview of the influences on children.
You can include factors that you will not write about in detail because they are still
important.
Paragraph 2
Start with the influence of parents, pointing out how important this is in shaping a
child’s behaviour. You could use social learning theory to explain this influence, as
well as classical and operant conditioning (see A2 Level Psychology pages 253–254).
There is plenty of research to cover, such as Rubin et al. (1974). A good evaluation
point is how matched the boys and girls were so it could only be the parental
expectations that influence the descriptions, not any real observable differences.
Mention briefly the social context (Pomerleau et al., 1990). With respect to Fagot
and Leinbach (1989), an evaluation point is that longitudinal studies demonstrate
how long term the influences on children are.
Paragraph 3
This continues the theme of parents but considers research showing that fathers
and mothers socialise their children rather differently and that same-sex models
eventually have a greater influence than opposite-sex ones (e.g. the work of Fagot &
Hagan, 1991, see A2 Level Psychology page 254). The study by Caldera and Sciaraffa
(1998) is also useful as it gives surprising findings and some implications—that
fathers are important socialising agents for their sons, especially when it comes to
nurturing behaviour. Implications are useful AO2. You can also cover the research
by Bhanot and Jovanovic (2005, see A2 Level Psychology pages 254–255) because
again there are very important implications, therefore more AO2 credit!
Paragraph 4
Now move on to peers and school. Because you are only covering this and parents,
introduce a broad range of studies that include different behaviours (e.g. friendship)
and a broad age range. Start by mentioning the stage of gender identity that the
child has reached, that by the time they start school or soon after, they will have
developed mature gender identity. Here you can reference Kohlberg (never be
afraid to put in information from other sections of the notes, provided they are
relevant and covered in brief)—this is useful because it provides the theoretical
context of the research and is therefore AO2. Consider research into sex segregation
and into the different friendship patterns of boys and girls, which continues
throughout a lifetime.
Paragraph 5
It’s worth starting a new paragraph to cover the research of Mac an Ghail (1994, see
A2 Level Psychology page 256). This is highly relevant because it introduces a very
different age range and, again, has very important implications. You could extend
this discussion to include Archer and Yamashita (2003) as well as Francis (2000)
and Webber and Walton (2006) because yet again the implications, in terms of ways
in which boys can be persuaded to stay on into further education, are enormous.
Paragraph 6
If you have time you can give a brief overview of other influences, such as the media,
etc. (but provided you’ve covered the previous research well, it doesn’t matter if you
don’t have time). If you’ve learnt the research, mention a few names and findings
very briefly.
Paragraph 7
Conclude with an overview of how important these influences are. Mention that
they are not, however, the only influence on gender behaviour and that biology will
shape how these influences will affect individuals. In addition, individual
differences, such as innate disposition, will also mean that these influences will
differ depending on the characteristics of the people who experience them.